Managing Day-to-Day Environmental Risks

Environmental risks form an integral part of daily life and business today. From households to multinational corporations, preserving nature and providing healthier spaces for living and working have become key societal goals. Increasingly, insurance policies seek to address environmental risks that may arise out of daily operations and not just those tied to transactions or historical uses of a property.

In January 2014, about 10,000 gallons of a coal processing chemical leaked from a storage tank near a West Virginia river, leading to a 10-day ban on drinking tap water by state environmental authorities that affected about 300,000 people.

Pollution exposures continue to expand as the public, regulators and legislators take a greater interest in protecting the environment. Organizations that make environmental coverage an essential part of their overall risk management strategy can better position themselves to withstand the financial impact of pollution incidents while protecting the environment, their staff and customers, and their reputations.